Recollections
by brownsugar91
Summary: It's his high school senior year. Both Ayame and Shigure believe that their friend Hatori needs to have a little adventure before graduation. Will the cold Hatori ever go through with it? And could a certain vivacious girl have any influence on Hatori?R
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**Of course I don't own fruits basket. I just LOVE reading it.

**A/N:**This is my first Furuba fanfic, so please review and tell me what you think!

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**Recollections**

**Chapter 1:**

"Did you see the girl—with the long black ponytail—who was staring at you yesterday?"

"Oh my dear Gure-san, it is only natural for me to receive such admiration from all people, regardless of their gender! My speech yesterday to the teacher was highly eloquent and articulate as all my speeches of course, so I cannot say that I'm surprised by this little piece of information."

"There is no doubt about that, Aya. But actually, I was directing the question to Hatori."

"Huh?" Hatori mumbled, raising his head in confusion from the table to face Ayame and Shigure. He had almost fallen asleep on the table; since Ayame's only reason for wanting to be the school council president was to display his royal and imperious attitude, Hatori—the vice president—was left to do all the actual work of the council. Yesterday, particularly, he had to convince the teacher that the first year students' quarrel was _really_ settled. But Ayame's speech complicated the originally simple matter in the teacher's head, and this made it rather more difficult for Hatori to unravel everything for the teacher.

"The girl," Shigure repeated to Hatori, "didn't take her eyes of you—not even for a fraction of a second."

"Tori-san! I believe this is an undeniable sign of love! You must, as fast as possible, know this girl and follow her!" exclaimed Ayame triumphantly. "Oh how ecstatic I feel for I will finally see my best friend overwhelmed by the inevitable passionate desire all young men feel!"

Hatori didn't bother to reply to Ayame. He rolled his eyes and sipped more from his cup of tea.

"Hatori," Shigure said, "I think Aya is somewhat right. Look at us, we don't run away from every girl we're attracted to—

"Precisely!" Aya yelled, slamming his fist onto the table so hard that the teacups crashed down on the floor and broke into small pieces all over the ground. Aya continued anyway, "You cannot be so ashamed of your zodiac animal as to avoid meeting with the girl of your dreams!"

Shigure chuckled at Ayame's apparently serious remark, and added sarcastically, "that's true—no matter how shameful it is to be possessed by the dragon's spirit and transforming instead into a little helpless seahorse."

"Aya, I don't think any girl would continue talking to a guy that turns into an animal—regardless of the type of the animal—every time he's hugged by her," Hatori said calmly.

"This is not fair! You must not disregard all the intense and amorous feelings you will be missing if you keep on thinking the way you do! Don't you agree, Gure?"

"Definitely," Shigure agreed, nodding and smiling.

Hatori sighed heavily. Even if what his friends had told him was true and there was a girl out there who liked him, would he be feeling happy? He'd feel like a fraud, he thought. He'd be keeping this horrible secret from her and deceiving her because he knows that if she finds out she'll never get close to him again. If she finds out, she'll be revolted, maybe even hurt—disillusioned.

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It was his pale eyes. She was unable to think of anything else. One look at them pulled her into another mystic dimension. They were so thoughtful, yet so solemn.

If there was a word that could describe her, it would be determined—and she knew it. She knew, from the moment she saw him, that she would do anything in her power to be close to him.

As she continued to mull over the memory of seeing Hatori, a sudden sharp ringing made her start and fall over from her chair. The girls' laughter made her remember that she was still in school and she realized slowly that the jolting noise was nothing more than the bell's ring. She got to her feet hastily, and left the classroom. The laughter was fading now, and she started to slow down. A voice called out from far behind her,

"Manami, wait up!"

Manami turned around to face her friend, whose face was turning red from the exhaustion of running. Shinada was never a great athlete. Her too slim figure and weak muscles never allowed her to run a short distance without getting breathless.

"What is it, Shin?"

"I wanted," she said, still panting, "to talk to you. I'm the new student council president. And I want—

"Oh, that's great!" Nami exclaimed. "That means you're gonna be busy from now on, and maybe we won't have a lot of time to hang out as we've been doing for almost two years now. But I'm still so happy for you! I mean I know how much you—

"Nami! I didn't finish. Kazumi, the vice-president, just quitted, so I was thinking maybe you'd like to fill in her place…"

"Are you kidding? I'd love to! I mean this school seriously needs some changes. The first thing I'll do is expel Kazumi and her stupid too-girly superficial friends. Oh just picture this with me, a school without Kazumi!"

Shin shook her head hopelessly. She knew that this was just the way things worked in Nami's mind. To her, there were basically two categories for people: the superficial people group which were characterized by people who their faked charming looks and outrageous actions have driven them to popularity, and the intellectual people group which didn't belong to the first group.

"Nami, the student council doesn't posses the authority to expel students," Shin looked at the ground intensely as she continued; "maybe Kazumi isn't so bad. I actually feel sorry for her. She looked different today when she quitted. Almost anguished,"

"You are too kind, Shin. I don't think Kazumi deserves any of your concerns."

Nami and Shin walked on silently to their houses, until a sudden thought crossed Nami's mind and she shrieked as if she just heard that world war III started.

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Shin asked, panicked.

The look of shock on Nami's face started to transform slowly into the most juvenile grin Shin had yet seen.

"Being part of the student council means organizing school events with the boys' school student council!"

Shin still looked anxious and didn't comprehend the point Nami was trying to make.

"The Sohma's are in the student council."

"I thought you hated the Sohma's. Especially the president—Ayame," Shin colored as she said this for reasons Nami didn't understand, and was too excited to analyze.

"That was before I met a Sohma that was completely different. Yesterday, as I was passing by the boys' school, I saw a bunch of students crowding over someone in the middle, and as I got closer, I recognized that Sohma's long white hair in the middle. He was telling some long dramatic story to a teacher—a lie, I suppose, to get him out of some trouble. And just when I was about to leave, I saw a guy that looked too mature to be Ayame's friend, yet he was standing next to him and to that other blacked hair guy! So I finally asked one of the students and he told me that the guy was Ayame's cousin and was named Hatori," Nami took a long breath after finishing, and waited for a response from Shin.

Shin, who was nodding and smiling at Nami, said nothing but, "that's good."

Even though that response was short, it was long enough to encourage Nami to carry on talking. Nami described Hatori's eyes and kept on doing so. Shin kept on listening until they reached their houses and had to part away.

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**A/N:** So I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of "Recollections". If you like it then please review and if you don't then please review too and tell me what you don't like about it—maybe I can improve. I'll submit chapter two soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Of course I don't own fruits basket. I just LOVE reading it.

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**Recollections**

**Chapter 2:**

"Ayame-san, you handled the quarrel quite well the other day," said a short guy, standing up abruptly from the secretary desk and taking off his glasses to gawk admiringly at Ayame, who had just entered the student council office.

"Well, I only did what the president would've done," Ayame said, taking off his long coat, which was the color of pure gold and was decorated with silvery threads along the edges.

"You're late Ayame," said a subdued voice, behind a clump of papers.

"Please excuse me Hatori for I was only doing my job out there on the grounds of our school. I have to say answering questions regarding my outfit—which has attracted many students—and just being stopped every few steps by admirers, that wanted to praise my style of handling the situation that happened few days ago, is just plain exhausting. Take my word Ha-san, you are lucky for not having my position." Ayame exhaled as though he had just run a thousand mile. He sat on his chair and allowed himself the comfort of stretching his legs and laying his feet on the desktop.

Hatori rolled his eyes, and went back to finish his work. Occasionally, he would look in Ayame's direction in the hopes of finding him doing at least some of his work, but instead he sees the secretary giving more compliments to Ayame, and Aya looking like he's king of the world.

Hatori looked at his watch and saw that it was almost five o'clock, and then he decided to leave his work for some other time. Just when he made this decision, Ayame announced loudly,

"Well my friends, Hatori, I will have to leave you handle this council for I have a very important appointment with a famous customs designer," he said, looking upwards at the ceiling with dreamy eyes, "So long everyone."

He waved his hands and vanished from the room. Hatori sighed when he saw the amount of work Ayame had left behind, but was determined not to change his mind about going home. Maybe he'll pass by his favorite place before going home. He called the place _the seasons' garden, _because no matter what season it was—the place always looked beautiful and definitely soothing. And soothing is exactly what he needed. Sometimes he, Shigure and occasionally Ayame would pass by it to hang out after school. So, he began walking to the garden. When he arrived there, the sun was beginning to set. He sat on his usual spot on the bench and stared out into the scenic view of the trees, which were illuminated by the soft light coming from the reddish glow of the setting sun.

He closed eyes, and listened to—in his opinion, the best thing to be heard—silence. Suddenly, and just when he had started to relax, he heard footsteps of somebody running near by. He opened his eyes to see a girl with scruffy, shoulder-length, mocha-colored hair, dashing rapidly towards him. On her face was the most jovial expression Hatori had ever seen, more jovial than possibly Ayame himself. She shouted something incomprehensible and waved her hand in Hatori's direction. Hatori automatically looked behind him. There was nobody there, yet the girl kept waving excitedly. Finally, she stopped at a distance of approximately one meter away from Hatori. She bent her back and laid her hands on her knees, out of breath.

"Ah, and I'm suppose to be the fit one!" She exclaimed laughingly. "I need to sit down," she exhaled and she sat down on the bench beside him.

Hatori still didn't say anything, and kept thinking that she must be talking to someone else. She continued, however, as though they've been childhood friends,

"Oh I wish I discovered this place earlier! It's so beautiful, don't you think?" She asked, looking directly into Hatori's eyes.

Hatori didn't utter a word.

"Do you always come here by yourself? I am so sorry if I'm interrupting you in any way," she said, standing up and stretching her hands in the air, "a place like this should not be wasted by sitting all alone; one must have company to share such beauty as this!"

Hatori still couldn't find the words to express what he wanted to say. Actually, he didn't know what he wanted to say at all. He was surprised. There was just something about the way she said that resembled Ayame so much that Hatori couldn't help but smile.

"What's funny?" She frowned, "is there something in my hair?"

Even though he didn't understand why, Hatori kept on smiling even more.

"Eh! What is it? Tell me!!" she cried. She came closer so swiftly and intended to put her hands on Hatori's shoulder, and in that precise moment, Hatori jumped from the chair instinctively, thinking she was going to bump into him. The girl lost her balance and fell on the ground.

Hatori was too shocked to pay any attention to the girl in that moment. His heart was thumping. His body was shaking. _He could have transformed right now_, he thought. _Right in front of her_. Who knew what could have happened if he did? He could've died! He turned his head away from her, and tried to calm himself down and stop panicking.

"Are you okay?" he heard her ask quietly, concerned.

He rearranged his features, and put on a blank expression. He turned to face her, and saw in her eyes a look of fear. It wasn't a fear from him though, it was a fear for him. He considered what his reaction must have made her think and how confused she must be. He tried to smile gently.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go," he said and walked away. He knew that this didn't exactly clarify any of what had just happened, but he couldn't think of anything more enlightening to say.

It was dusk now as he got closer to the main house. As he stood in front of the door, he heaved a sigh, thinking of the strange short encounter he had. _I really need some rest, _he thought. He passed by Shigure's house and thought of stopping by it. As he got closer though, he heard a soft sobbing. _Maybe it's Akito. It has been a long day already as it is. Why does something else has to happen?_

He moved closer to the source of the sound, even though it was becoming really faint. He stood by the edge of the wall, and tilted his head to peek on what was going on in the garden behind Shigure's house.

Shigure was carrying Akito in his arms, as if putting an infant to sleep. Akito's hands were clutching Shigure's shirt tightly. Shigure was looking at Akito intensely. Hatori had never seen such an earnest expression on Shigure's face, ever. For a fleeting moment, Hatori thought of getting closer and asking what happened, but saw that they were completely oblivious to their surrounding and he decided to leave instead.

He went to his room, took off his shoes, and lied on his bed. He stared at the ceiling, and he wondered what could have happened to Akito. And that look on Shigure's face. It was as though he was willing to do anything for Akito. Like he never wanted to let go. He wondered if he'll ever feel this way about someone. But so many things could happen. When you're a member of the zodiac, you are damned with a future of solitude. So what could possibly come out from falling in love with someone if it's only going to end with sorrow and suffering? He turned to his side and closed his eyes.

_Hatori! I'm home! Sorry for being late, the grocery market was really crowded._

A girl entered from the front door and ran to Hatori. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"It's all right. I'll always be waiting for you," Hatori said gently, running his hands into the girl's dark brown hair. She looked into his eyes and smiled—a smile that made Hatori feel like he'd just seen the light at the end of the tunnel. The light that brightened his way, that liberated him. He put one hand on her back, pressing her close to him and—

"Tori, wake up!" A voice called out. "It's not of your habit to oversleep, especially on a school day,"

Hatori opened his eyes slowly, and saw Shigure sitting on the chair in front of his bed.

"It's not of your habit to wake up on time either, especially on a school day," Hatori managed to say, even though he felt very disorientated. It was just a dream, he thought, a weird dream, irrelevant whatsoever with anything that has to do with his creeds, whatever they were.

"But it's not just an ordinary school day, you couldn't' have forgotten that we're high school seniors and we have a lot of work to do…or could you?!" Shigure exclaimed dramatically, standing up.

"Strange. Is everyone acting like Ayame now?" Hatori walked to the bathroom, leaving Shigure saying something indistinguishable.

After Hatori finished preparing himself for school, he and Shigure started walking to school together. Hatori noticed that Shigure, exceptionally, hadn't a word since they left the house, and so he decided to start talking.

"So, what happened yesterday to Akito?" He didn't want Shigure to know that he saw him yesterday, and added, "I heard she was crying."

"The Sohma family surely likes to gossip," Shigure said, shaking his head in mock despair, "I guess it was a fight with Ren or something. I'm not sure. Greenery day is coming soon—three days away, isn't it?"

It was obvious that Shigure didn't want to talk about Akito and Hatori just played along with him. "Yeah. The student council will be very busy this week—lots of meetings with the girls' student council, and Ayame is disappearing awfully a lot lately," Hatori said.

"It seems he found this fashion designer who, from what it seems, is very interested in Ayame's sense of style," Shigure said. "Maybe we should start thinking of our future too,"

Hatori had so much on his mind, and he definitely didn't need another matter to add up. _It's gonna be a long week,_ he sighed.

* * *

"I'm so excited!" Nami exclaimed, hugging Shin so hard she was going to choke.

"I don't know what the big deal is." Shin rolled her eyes, pulling away.

"Oh Shin, you're only saying this because you haven't seen what I have seen. It was like magic!"

"I thought he got all weird and left without an explanation. Isn't that what you've been complaining about all day?"

"I was talking about his eyes. And about our little meeting, I thought things over and I don't blame him. I mean, I am after all the one who showed up all of a sudden and acted as if I knew him. He probably thought I was nuts, but that's okay because I have a plan, and I will apply it tomorrow. I know he's gonna love me then! Aaah, I'm so excited!" She yelled higher than before and hugged Shin once more.

Shin usually didn't share those 'anticipation moments' Nami usually had, but she rather understood them. However, this time Nami could tell that there was eagerness in Shin's eyes. It was almost as if Shin was as excited as Nami—but in her own way, of course. Nami laughed out loud when she thought of this. Shin didn't question the reason for that laugh. She simply thought it was part of Nami's hysterical 'anticipation moments', and sighed.

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**A/N:** So what did you think of the second chapter?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**I don't own fruits basket_._

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**Recollections**

**Chapter 3:**

The next day Hatori woke up spiritlessly. He had a meeting with the girls' student council, and he loathed going there. The girls acted like maniacs, and clustered around him and his cousins whenever they go there. He spent the entire school day dreading the end of it for he knew what was to come. The bell rang nevertheless, and the students began to go home. He spotted Ayame packing his things hastily and stepping out the door. _You're not getting away, _he thought determinedly and went after him. Shigure followed the two of them out of the class.

"Ayame," Hatori called. Even though he didn't exactly shout, his voice was loud enough for Ayame to hear and turn around.

"Where are you going? You know there's a meeting today, don't you?" Hatori said evenly.

"Oh there is, isn't there?!" Ayame replied in his usual melodramatic manner, "I have completely forgotten about it for my mind has been so occupied. I'm afraid I will not be able to attend it. I have another important appointment with the well-known fashion designer—Kojima."

"Ayame, you are the school council president and it is your responsibility to attend those kinds of meetings." Hatori said, trying to contain his frustration.

"And I will do so next time. Please accept my sincere apologies," he said, not looking sorry at all, and fled.

Hatori breathed exasperatedly. _This was so typical of Ayame_.

"I could make the secretary go with me, I suppose," he mumbled grumpily, while Shigure kept being quiet, spaced-out.

He started marching to the student council room, but stopped when Shigure apparently had become alert again.

"Wait up Hatori! Why are you walking so fast?" Shigure said.

"I just said that I was going to the student council," Hatori hastily, and turned back to start striding, when Shigure talked again.

"Why?"

"What do you mean _why_? Haven't you just been standing with me and Ayame in front of the class?"

Shigure stared stupidly at Hatori, who was getting really irritated. Hatori explained about the meeting to Shigure.

"Girls?" Shigure asked, still staring stupidly at Hatori.

"Yeah," Hatori continued, "so I want the secretary to come instead of Ayame and—

Hatori stopped because he was distracted by the mischievous grin that was spreading on Shigure's face. It was never a good sign when Shigure smirked like that.

"Shigure, this is serious. We are going to be discussing the Greenery Day and the Greenery Day only," Hatori warned, but Shigure's smile was even broader.

"Of course! Greenery Day. I'm sure I can come up with some ideas."

And so it was decided. Hatori didn't want to argue and just resigned. They started walking to the nearby girls' school, and Shigure kept mumbling things like, "this is exactly what I need" or "lots of girls". Hatori knew that Ayame's appeal is somewhat similar to Shigure's when it came to girls, but he still preferred to take Aya with him instead. When Shigure came he didn't only attract the girls and flirted with them, but he also encouraged them to stick around, which made Hatori feel extremely uncomfortable.

Before they even entered the school gate, the girls, once they had looked at them, would start to whisper to each other and to break into a fit of hysterical giggles. Shigure kept diverting from the way towards the girls, and Hatori had to pull him back every time. He wondered if he had just imagined Shigure looking serious that other day, because this just couldn't be the same person. Finally, they arrived at the student council room. Hatori opened the door, but to his surprise the place was completely empty.

"Where could they be?" Hatori asked, looking over his shoulder to see Shigure, but Shigure wasn't there. He turned around only to see Shigure talking—or rather showing off—to a group of giggly girls. Hatori rolled his eye, and just when he was about to call out to Shigure, a girl with short straight hair came running towards him.

"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting," she said, standing on her toes and trying to peek over Hatori's shoulder, breathless. "My name is Shinada Karoru. I'm the student council president."

She bowed her head. Hatori was taken aback by her manners but he replied just as politely, "I'm Hatori Sohma, student council vice-president."

"Shigure here," Hatori pulled Shigure away from the girls, and managed to continue just as calmly, "is a substitute for our president. I'm afraid Ayame had some urgent business to deal with."

"Oh," she said, trying to hide her obvious disappointment. "I'm Shinada Karoru. Nice to meet you." She bowed her head to Shigure.

"Oh hey look Hatori, I think we just found someone who might actually win against you in politeness," Shigure said, laughing alone at his own joke. "What's wrong? Don't you two have any sense of humor?"

Hatori shot Shigure a threatening look. Shin, on the other hand, smiled timidly.

"The vice-president should be here any moment," she said, struggling against her nervousness.

At last, came running, with a huge grin on her face, the same girl Hatori had seen the other day in the garden. With the way she came running and waving, Hatori was overwhelmed by a strong sense of déjà vu. _This couldn't be! It's like she's haunting him! _He remembered how he left the last time they met, and tried to uphold his composure. Even though her hair looked even messier than before, Hatori thought it added to her liveliness. But just when he thought this, he shook his head indignantly as though someone had accused him of committing a crime. _I don't even know the girl_, he thought.

"Hi guys! Sorry I'm late. That teacher just kept lecturing me, and talking on and on about how I should make my hair tidier somehow," she said monotonously. "Anyway, my name is Manami, but you could just call me Nami if you want to."

"I'm Hato—

"I know who you are," she said, waving her hands in disregard.

"I think you're hair looks perfect by the way," Shigure said to Nami, smiling. Nami looked at him blankly and then at Hatori.

"Who's he?" She said, directing her talk to Hatori.

"Ayame—the president—was unable to attend this meeting, and Shigure here is taking his place temporarily," Hatori said.

"I see. So that long-haired show-off isn't here, but another one is. Great." She said, rolling her eyes and entering the student council room.

Hatori and Shigure exchanged a look of surprise at that attitude.

"I'm sorry about that," Shin said sheepishly to Shigure, "Please, come in."

Shigure and Hatori sat across the table from Shin and Nami.

"So…?" Hatori began.

"So, we are here to talk about the Greenery Day!" Shigure exclaimed, interrupting Hatori.

"A day to commune with nature and be grateful for its blessings," Nami added enthusiastically.

"Indeed, we should be grateful—especially this time of the year."

"First, I think we should decide on a location for the event to take place," Hatori suggested.

"We could use—" Shin started speaking.

"I think we should use the girls' school playground. It's much bigger than yours," Nami said forcefully, as though someone was opposing her.

"I completely agree. Great idea, Nami," Shigure said, nodding wisely.

"Who gave you the permission to call me Nami?" she snapped at Shigure bitterly, and then turned to face Hatori with a completely different expression, "What do _you_ think?"

Nami was looking so intensely at Hatori that he thought he had no choice but to agree. He was glad, however, that someone had snapped at Shigure so hard, he's speechless.

"I think that'd be fine," Hatori replied.

"What do you think Shinada?" Shigure was now talking to Shin after being reprimanded by Nami.

"That's what I was gonna say," she replied, looking at Nami and then turning to smile at him. "About the decorations—

"My parents own a flower shop!" Nami interrupted yet again. "They've got all kinds of Plants and decorations. I could easily tell them to borrow their stuff for that day!" She beamed at Hatori.

"That's really convenient," Hatori said, "Now we just have the food—

"We'll ask the students to do them. We could tell each student to make some and that'll be it. Everything is going to be smooth. I know it!" Nami said hurriedly.

"I think you're right," Hatori said, astonished on how fast everything was planned.

"So, we're done? I was getting a bit hungry," Shigure said.

"Ouch!" Shin suddenly yelled. Both Shigure and Hatori looked at her quickly, surprised. But Nami was looking at Shin in a different way; she was looking expressively at Shin as though she was trying to send her an unvoiced message. Shin looked nervously back at her and then glanced at Hatori and Shigure.

"Shin, my dearest friend, you told me you were hungry too earlier, _remember_? Why don't you show Shigure where the cafeteria is?" Nami said emphatically, staring at Shin with wide open eyes.

"Eh? The cafeteria is closed," Shin replied.

"Right. You could show him that small restaurant at the end of the street," Nami said.

Hatori kept quiet, and looked back and forth from Shin to Nami. Shigure initially did the same, but then decided to play along with Nami.

"Yes! I think I know that place. Let's go!" Shigure said, standing up abruptly.

"Eh? Wait—" Shin started, while Shigure held her hand and dragged her out of the room.

Hatori was completely speechless. _Shigure really wants me to hook up with a girl_, Hatori thought. He decided that he'd talk a little to the girl out of his politeness—not because he _wants _to or anything like that, and then he'd just leave.

"I don't think your friend could survive Shigure's company," Hatori said, trying to picture what was going on with Shigure and Shin, and then he felt a fleeting surge of pity towards Shin.

"How do _you_ survive it then?" Nami said, "Ever since I was really young, I could never stand posers."

"I grew up with Shigure. I'm sure there were a lot of moments that I couldn't stand him. I know that Shigure might act like a poser, but I don't think he really is. Inside," Hatori said, thinking of Shigure's expression as he held Akito in his arms, "he could hold emotions that are deeper than any of ours."

Shin laughed so hard at this, she looked like she was about to explode with hilarity. "That guy—deep emotions?! I just can't imagine that," she said, wiping some of the tears that she wept while laughing.

Hatori was fascinated by such lack of restraints. That laugh was the definition of freedom, he thought, smiling.

"Well, I guess it's hard to imagine that from the first time you meet him," Hatori said, but that made Nami start laughing again. "Do you always get teary-eyed when you laugh?"

"Most of the time," she said jovially, "It's not only me though, even my mom has always been close to tears. Whenever something happens—whether it's sad or funny—we'd start crying together."

"Are you close to your mother?" Hatori asked. He wasn't sure why he was asking her. He was feeling a strong spasm of curiosity that he never felt about anyone before. He wanted to know all about her—all the trivial details of her everyday life.

"Well, we have our ups and downs. We have to argue about every little thing. And about every little thing we have to argue a trillion times. We tend to repeat the arguments. Like, for example, everyday before I go to school, we argue about my hair! Every single day—it's like part of the daily routine."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"One little very annoying overprotective brother," she said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, it's my turn to ask questions! Any siblings?"

"No," Hatori answered.

"Are you on good terms with your parents?"

Hatori considered this question carefully. He thought of the answer that's closest to the truth, and said, "we don't speak a lot."

"How come?" She uttered, completely surprised.

"It's just the way things are," Hatori said simply.

"But they're your family—who do you turn to then?" She said, looking directly into his eyes with concerned eyes.

_Too concerned,_ he thought. Why was she looking at him with such worried eyes? He couldn't get what the big deal was. Maybe, he tried to remember, when he was a kid, he might have felt sad for being left out by his parents.

"Shigure and Ayame. They've always been there when I needed company." It's true. They've been his family, even if he doesn't tell them every single thing that he feels. They were always there.

Surprisingly, Nami didn't laugh at this. She just smiled gently at him. Hatori wanted to never forget that smiling face for the rest of his life. Neither of them said anything, until suddenly they both heard Shigure's laugh out side the council room. Hatori was immediately brought to reality. Less than a second later, Shigure entered through the door with Shin who, Hatori thought, looked much gladder than before.

"Oh," Shigure said, as he looked at Shin and Hatori sitting across from each other. He turned around and started walking outside. "Shinada, I think we should—

"Shigure, wait up," Hatori said, standing up. He looked at Nami once more before he left.

"I'll see you on Greenery Day," she said, smiling.

"Ouch!" Hatori cried, when Shigure slapped him on his back, once they were out of the room. "What the hell was that for?!"

"I'm so proud of you. I can't wait till I tell Ayame that our little boy has finally grown to be an adolescent young man! He'd be so—

Shigure kept talking like that all the way home, and Hatori didn't hear a word from him. He could only think of _her_, and nothing else.

**A/N:** The end of the third chapter!XD Whatever you have to say, feel free to review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I don't own fruits basket...

**A/N: **I haven't updated in such a long time! I actually planned to abandon this story, but for some reason, i've been having second thoughts about it recently. Well, even though i didn't get that many reviews, i'm not giving up! I probably will, but it's good to update every once in a while. Anyway, I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter, and leave a review behind.

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**Recollections**

**Chapter 4:**

On Greenery day, Nami woke up early in the morning, when the sun was just rising. As soon as she heard the birds singing at dawn, she bounced immediately on her feet enthusiastically. She hopped her way to the bathroom, and smirked at her own image on the mirror, ruffling her hair some more. She was going to meet Hatori today and just couldn't contain her zeal, and so she let out a sharp scream.

"NAMI!" A boy roared from distance. "SHUT UP!"

Nami chuckled when she heard this—something she wouldn't normally do when her brother yelled at her like that. But she was in an exceptionally good mood that day.

She wore her uniform and ran to Shin's nearby house. The door to her house was open. It's always open, Nami noticed. She didn't bother knock and dashed up the stairs to Shin's room. Nami expected to see Shin lying on her bed deeply asleep as usual, but surprisingly she found her sitting in front of the mirror, brushing her hair and making it flatter than it already is.

"You're awake!" Nami exclaimed, startling Shin.

"I would be a lot happier if you'd knock next time you enter my room," Shin said, still shaken a bit.

"Sorry about that," Nami replied cheerily. "Oh Shin, it's going to be great today! I just know—I can feel it in the air! The weather is wonderful and even the birds were singing, celebrating this ideal day." Nami stared at Shin, not really seeing her, and continued just as dreamily, "I'm telling you Shin, love is in the air."

Shin shook her head hopelessly, smiling. "So… Are you going to tell Hatori how you feel about him today?"

"Of course not!" Nami exclaimed indignantly at such an absurd question as this. "I have to wait for the right moment. I can't just _impose_ myself on him—

Shin suddenly started coughing forcefully. _Impose!_ She thought sarcastically.

"Well, I could talk to Shigure about it if _you_ don't want to _impose_," Shin suggested casually.

"Talk to that phony?! Why?! And since when are you on personal terms with Shigure?"

Shin rolled her eyes. It was expected from Nami to react this way every time Shin mentioned Ayami or Shigure.

"Well, if you didn't force me to walk with him the other day I wouldn't even be talking to him." Truth be told, Shin enjoyed her time with Shigure very much. He told her stories about the troubles he and Ayame had gotten into in the past, and she thought they were hilarious. She chuckled, as she remember their conversation.

"I wouldn't trust such people if you ask me, but who knows…" Nami sighed, watching Shin flat her hair and smile at her own reflection. "I have to give him time. If I confess too soon then he might reject me, and I don't know what I would do if something like that happened…"

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"I can't believe you actually came," Hatori mumbled, sincerely surprised to see Ayame helping out with the festival.

"Well, it's true that I've been busy, but I wouldn't miss a very important festival like this. This is a very good opportunity for our school to socialize with the neighboring girls' school. Communication with the opposite sex in this age is vital."

"I agree," Shigure supported Ayame's speech, nodding wisely.

Hatori should have known that was the only reason he'd come, and that it had nothing to do with feeling responsible or for the sake of performing his duties as council president. _Well, everything seems to be going fine, _Hatori thought, looking around him, _the place is crowded with students walking around, eating, talking, laughing__—basically enjoying themselves._

Ayame was talking to Shin, who Hatori didn't notice her coming towards them. _She's very tiny, _Hatori thought absentmindedly, watching her introduce herself to Ayame, and he noticed how she looked at Ayame, almost admiringly. Something in Hatori suddenly flicked, and the words came out of his mouth before he could stop them,

"Where's Nami?"

"Huh?" Shin turned to him, confusedly, "umm… I think she was fighting with her brother over there." She pointed somewhere far behind the crowd, and there he saw her screaming at a short guy, who in turn was also screaming his guts out on her. When a situation like this happens in school, Hatori as vice-president would immediately try to control it, but now as he looked at them… it looked normal. And he knew there was nothing to worry about, everyone else was having fun.

"Just go talk to her!" Shigure suddenly said to Hatori making him start.

"What are you talking about?" Hatori asked innocently, but Shigure just rolled his eyes, and Hatori knew there was no use acting stupid. "What makes you think I'm interested in talking to her?"

"Well, you just asked where she was."

_Right. He just did, but why? _This Hatori himself didn't know the answer for it.

"Oh dear," Shigure was saying, shaking his head tragically. He turned to face Hatori and grabbed him sternly by the shoulders. "Listen, you have to—no wait, you _need to _talk to her. I can't stand watching you act like this. I mean the girl obviously has a humongous crush on you, and you can't deny you have a thing for her too. So," he let go of an exasperated-looking Hatori and turned to where Shin had pointed, and screamed, "MANAMI!! Come on over here! Hatori's got something to say to you! Good luck my friend."

"Hey wait—what do you think you're doing?" Hatori said, through clenched teeth. Shigure gave him that mischievous grin of his, and ran away to join Ayame and Shin walking on the other side.

_Oh great! _Hatori thought, annoyed from Shigure, but it was too late. Nami had noticed him and was running in his direction. He exhaled and let himself calm down. _We're both vice-presidents, so we'll just talk a little about the festival. I know myself, and I've decided long ago, that I will never let not get attached to anyone and that I will not let anyone get attached to me. Because that's just how it is with the curse. _

"Hey! What's up?" Nami said, hitting him on his arm as a friendly gesture though she regretted it immediately, because Hatori looked somewhat troubled.

"Nothing much, just watching the crowd," Hatori said, rubbing his arm. _Damn, she's strong._

"I have to say this turned out to be a success, don't you think?" Nami asked brightly, trying to start a conversation that would make him give a little longer reply—just a bit longer.

"Yeah," he sighed, "everyone seems to be enjoying it…"

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Enjoying it," she looked directly at his eyes.

"sure," he said, not sure what they're talking about. _So dark, yet so full of life, _he thought, unable to let his stare move from her eyes.

"You don't look like it," she grunted. He only stared at her looking confused. "You know, I know exactly what you need! Come with me!"

She held his hands and started dragging towards the school building without any hint of hesitation.

"Hey, where are we going?" Hatori said, catching his breath, trying to catch up with her running. _What the hell am I doing? Just let go of her hand! _He ordered himself, but he was still running after her, now climbing the stairs. Her grip on his hands was too strong, although a small voice at the back of his head informed him that this has nothing to do with why he won't let go.

"Come on, if we hurry we might just be on time," She said, still climbing some more stairs.

_Why am I not listening to myself?! I'm sure I was telling myself just moments ago that a little conversation with her will do! It's so hard to remember the reasons why I don't want to get closer to her._

"Just one more floor, and here we are!" She announced loudly, as she opened the door. Hatori's thoughts were put to silence.

"This is a very beautiful view," Hatori said, almost in a whisper, looking with awe at the sunset before him. He had watched it so many times, but never did he watched from the roof, because of his little fear of heights. _But this…this looks far more beautiful than he could ever imagined. _The colors the sunset was casting at all the life forms under them. Whether it was Greenery day or not, he found it impossible not to appreciate nature now, as he looked down on the cherry trees blossoms illuminated by the sun soft light.

"I know, right?!" she exclaimed excitedly, running to stand by the edge of the roof. "Come over here, the view is better!"

He watched her blankly waving her hands at him and smile brightly. "Uh… I can see it fine from here."

"Come on, just come see it from here!" She said, almost demanding.

When Hatori just smiled at her to show that he was fine where he was. She frowned, and marched her way to Hatori. She held his arm, and started dragging him towards the edge.

_Oh great, _Hatori thought, letting out a resigned sigh. If he resisted, he might end up bumping into her, and so he walked behind her obediently, trying about the stairs they climbed and how high the building is. Hatori gulped trying to hide his obvious worry, looking at how everyone looked from the top.

"Oh look, there's Shin," Nami said, leaning on to the low fence, and pointing at her. "I don't know what she's doing down there, talking to that creep."

"Maybe you shouldn't be leaning like that on the fence," Hatori suggested, trying to cover his concern with a monotonous voice, and moving a little closer to her.

"Why not?!" She turned to face him, a huge playful smirk forming on her face, still leaning against the tiny hurdle with one hand. "Are you _scared_?"

"No," Hatori replied curtly, his lips curling into a confident smile, "I just like to be cautious, that's all." He noticed how the sunlight had gave a sort of reddish glow to her brown hair, and her eyes looked shinier than ever. _Damn, she looks beautiful, _the small voice back in Hatori's head said again. Hatori wanted to reprimand himself, but it seems he had forgotten now completely all the reasons he didn't want to be close to someone. It was now impossible to remember any of them.

"Oh really?" she said, her voice dripping sarcasm. _Most people she tried to tease would normally loose all their coolness, and start yelling back, but he… he's just not the type. Well, it's still wouldn't hurt to test his limits. _She bit her lower lip in an innocent act, and said, "Well, since I'm holding on to the hurdle, then I'll definitely won't fall. Even if I just hold it like this…"

Hatori watched, smiling amusedly—though still worried, as she slowly let go of one finger after another, until she was inclining all her bodyweight, only supported by her pinky finger.

"I think you proved you're point here," Hatori said firmly. Her smile widened with pleasure. Hatori's eyes slipped from her eyes to her little finger to the tiny crowd down there, and then hurriedly back to her finger.

"Fine, I admit I _am_ scared of heights," Hatori said with a sigh, expecting her to stand still.

But as she started laughing so animatedly, her finger slipped, and all happening in a matter of seconds, she lost her balance. Hatori instinctively held her arms with both of his hands and helped her stand still. Both of them were breathing rapidly. Hatori felt his heart thump loud in his ears.

"Oh my god! I'm so stupid! I just—I d-didn't mean it. I'm so sorry, really really sorry!" She mumbled, out of breath, looking at Hatori sheepishly.

"It's okay. Are _you _okay?" He asked, not letting go of her arms, and looking intensely directly into her large brown eyes.

"Y-yeah…" Nami stuttered. _Those pale blue eyes are so intense, _she thought unable to tear her gaze away. She was lost in them, lost in his earnest stare, because the next thing she said definitely didn't go through any processing in her brain.

"I love you."

"Huh?" Hatori let go of her arms, feeling all the heat rising to his face. All the reasons he'd forgotten that day came flooding back to him.

_What the hell did I just say?! Damn sunsets! They create romantic seconds so you could just loose yourself in them. _

"I-I…" Hatori was at a loss of words to say.

"Are you married?" Nami inquired unthinkably. She had never seen Hatori look less than his usual cool composed self. _God damn it! I shouldn't have said anything. I'm so stupid!_

"Of course not," Hatori immediately answered, momentarily surprised at the question, and then he had to make it clear. He had to tell her that he can't be in a relationship, and he would just use any clichéd excuse guys use to break up with their girlfriends. Sure, he could even remember some of Shigure's llines. "Umm…—

Hatori stopped, because Nami now broke into a fit of almost hysterical laughter, her cheeks flushed red.

"Oh haha, you thought—" she said, looking at him with wide eyes, and then immediately shutting them close just to continue laughing. "Oh no no, you got it all wrong!"

"I did?" Hatori asked, utterly confused.

"I mean sure, I _love_ you—_like_ you!" She said casually, "As a friend!"

"Oh…" That was all Hatori managed to say.

"Of course! You see, I think we're becoming really close friends, so I was just stating out the fact, you know?" She said, unable to blink at Hatori's skeptical look. Not blinking is good, she thought, the air would dry up any tears in her eyes before they'd be able to escape. She has to finish this quickly. _It's okay. I've always been a good liar, _she reassured herself, even though she felt as though she didn't live in her body anymore. She wanted to escape as fast as possible before her swelling feelings take over her_. _She rushed quickly, "Well, if I disappeared any longer, I'll have to start another fight with my brother. So, I guess I'll see you later my_ friend_!"

Nami didn't wait for Hatori's response, and ran her way down the stairs. She kept on cursing herself each step of the way, feeling the tears flowing on her cheeks uncontrollably. _I'm so stupid! So damn stupid! So stupid…so stupid…_

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**A/N:** So, honestly what did you think? I'm open to anything, really...


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